War

Emma Makowski walks through the Chaffee Barbershop and Military Museum in Fort Smith: a World War II trench exhibit, refugee history, Elvis Presley's Army buzz cut.

Several hundred military contractors gathered in Bentonville for the 2026 Mid-America Aerospace and Defense Summit. Chad Causey touts industry growth as Friends of Palestine NWA protests outside.

A Battle of Sicily anniversary highlights Fort Chaffee's connection to the Allied campaign in Italy, including the service and sacrifice of Army nurse Ellen Ainsworth.

Swarm Aero, a drone manufacturer with operations in Fayetteville, has secured more than $10 million in Air Force Research Laboratory contracts to help build aircraft parts for the Air Force.

Randy Dixon of the Pryor Center revisits KATV's 1976 bicentennial documentary, covering the Arkansas Traveler, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, the UofA's founding and Arkansas's bauxite history.

Drone manufacturer Swarm Aero held a public meeting at the Fayetteville Public Library as it faces resistance over its facility near Drake Field. Ozarks at Large's Sophia Nourani reports.

Randy Dixon of the Pryor Center revisits KATV's coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom, from the "shock-and-awe" bombing of Baghdad to the "Mission Accomplished" speech and the war's long aftermath.

Former war correspondent Amy Schlesing is partnering with the University of Arkansas Pryor Center to preserve oral histories from Arkansas veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Randy Dixon of the Pryor Center and Kyle Kellams look back at how KATV Channel 7 covered Operation Desert Storm, from the air war to the ground offensive, through the eyes of Arkansans.